Moves Like Jagger

To anyone who's interested, I do post random stuff on a writing blog of mine. It usually includes some author notes I made. Feel free to check it out at aichioluv (dot) blogspot (dot) com. No pressure, of course =)

Chapter 3 – The Predicament

"How come there isn't a bass?"

Rude looked at Elena questioningly. "You mean…?"

"Don't most bands have a bass guitarist?" Elena stretched on the bench along the corridor of Level 5. While Reno and Tseng were inside the room recording the music, Elena and Rude stepped out of the recording studio to grab a cup of coffee.

Rude cleared his throat. "I'm the bass guitarist."

Elena stared at Rude. "Really, now." She commented, taking a sip from the Styrofoam cup.

"I fare better at the drums, but I provide the bass for the songs." He answered. "After Reno is done with the basic melody, it'll be my turn for the bass. Tseng will record and do the rest."

"Huh… So why isn't there a bass guitarist?" She wondered aloud. "You won't need to do extra work."

There was a brief pause from the band's drummer. "We used to have one. She… She left."

"Your bass guitarist was a girl?" Elena asked. "She must be really good if you guys used her in your band."

"Yes…" Rude nodded. "She was one of her kind."

For a moment, Elena saw the smallest change in facial expression in the usually stoic drummer. But as soon as it came, it left his face, like a passing shadow. Rude pushed his sunglasses against his nose and changed the subject. "I heard from Reno that you are done with your painting."

Elena grinned. "Yesterday!" She gave a thumbs-up at him. "Now I can focus more on this music project!"

"I appreciate that." Was his simple reply.

They walked towards the door of the recording studio. Before his hand could touch the door knob, the door swung open. Reno and Tseng walked out into the corridor.

"We're done with the recording for now." Tseng said. "We'll resume after lunch."

"Alright." Elena nodded, walking into the studio room to pick up her bag. "See you guys later or something."

"Not joining us for lunch, Elena?" Reno asked.

"Nah. I'm meeting a friend for lunch." Elena waved and left.


The canteen in the Arts faculty was bustling full of students' chatter about their projects and exhibition. Elena was sitting with Cissnei as usual. She has grown to like the quiet but caring girl, though Cissnei had her own eccentricities. She talked freely one-to-one, but in a group, Cissnei clammed up and refused to speak much. Furthermore, she never wore short-sleeved clothing, no matter how hot the weather was.

Also, when Elena first told Cissnei about being dragged into the band, Cissnei behaved normally, but her eyes were full of emotion… a negative kind of emotion, as if Cissnei hated one of them, or maybe all of them. Elena never probed, but one thing she knew for sure. Cissnei is quiet on the surface, but her eyes tell Elena a different story.

Soon after they sat down with their plates, Tseng walked over. "Elena." He placed a CD and a few pieces of paper on the table.

Elena set down her spoon with surprise. "Tseng!" She said. "What are you doing here?"

"Passing you the CD sampler and the lyrics." Tseng replied. "About time we get to work on your part." He added, "Please be in the studio by 4 p.m. today." He turned but he saw Cissnei sitting at the same table. He dipped his head slightly then, he walked away.

Elena quickly kept the CD and papers. She stared at Cissnei, who was quiet and her head was turned away but before Elena could speak, a throng of girls surrounded her.

"Was that Tseng from Laser Lou!"

"How did you get to know him?"

"What is your relationship with him?"

The blonde stared at the endless amount of questions thrown at her. She could only stare at Cissnei helplessly. "I…" She stammered.

Cissnei stood up and grabbed her arm. "Elena," She said urgently. "We need to meet Professor Gast now, right? Better go before we're late." Before Elena could utter another word, Cissnei pulled her away from the crowd and they escaped the canteen and the bevy of stunned girls.

Their brisk walk slowed down and Elena mumbled. "Th-Thank you, Cissnei."

Cissnei frowned behind her, where the cafeteria was at. "You do know that getting close to Laser Lou will get you into trouble, right?" She asked.

Elena stared at Cissnei with surprise. "What?" She asked. "I don't really understand."

Cissnei's brown-red eyes were fixated on Elena. "You mean you have no idea…?" She bit her lip and sighed when Elena shook her head. "Oh Gaia." She pulled Elena to a bench, sitting her down. "Do you need explanations?"

"Clearly." Elena frowned. "What's with Laser Loo?"

"L-O-U." Cissnei corrected her. "You're kidding." She stared at Elena with disbelief. "You don't know the name of the band you're in? Gosh." Cissnei drummed her fingers on the table. "Laser Loud is a band by Reno, Rude and Tseng. Re, Tse, Ru." She counted with her fingers. "Therefore, 'Laser Lou'." (A/N: In Japanese, the 'r' consonant is pronounced as 'l' so you should sound it like 'le-tse lu'… thus it sounds like Laser Lou. I know it's not in Japan but I can't help it!)

"Laser Lou." Elena repeated. "What a weird name."

"Reno came up with it." Cissnei smiled.

"Why am I not surprised." Elena remarked. "Wait… why do you know so much about them?"

"They've been around for a long time." The redhead explained. "The three of them were high-school friends and the band was formed then. They were popular. Insanely popular."

Remembering the disconcerting stares from neighbouring watchful eyes everytime she dines with the three guys, Elena asked. "Their fan club isn't friendly, I suppose?"

Cissnei showed a flicker of a grim smile. "Unfriendly is an understatement."

"Why aren't the guys doing anything about it?" Elena exclaimed. "Or tell a teacher about it?"

The quiet look from her friend was answer enough, but Cissnei replied anyway. "Nobody dared to. We… We're afraid of what else that could happen." She said.

Elena noticed that her hand involuntarily moved to her shoulder. "Cissnei…" She asked gravely."What does 'we' mean?"

For a moment the quiet girl did not speak. Elena thought about probing the question again when Cissnei pulled at the collar of her sweater to reveal a horrible, ugly scar. It stretches all the way behind the fabric. Cissnei then pulled up her long-sleeves to reveal the ugly burn that ended only at her forearm. Elena gasped.

"I…" Cissnei said softly as she covered her wound again. "I used to be a bass guitarist in Laser Lou. Back in high school." Elena sat in silence, taking in all of Cissnei's words. "The girls…" Her mouth pulled into a tight line. "They say it was an accident that the chemicals were spilled onto my back but…"

Elena reached out for Cissnei's hand, her heart was pounding at the information. "Cissnei…" She uttered. "It's terrible!"

"They say that it was an accident, but a few know better. Whoever who is not a part of their fan club, who got close to any of the guys… will be warned." She didn't look at Elena, choosing to focus on a space to Elena's left. "I was unable to play the bass for a month because the bass guitar strap will hurt my wound, but it was fine anyway. I had enough of their threats. The threatening letters and accidental shoving was tolerable, but…" Her hands clenched into tight fists.

"I…" Elena tried to say something appropriate, but word failed her. At that moment, when her shock wore off, she remembered what Rude said to her earlier.

So Cissnei was the bass guitarist that 'left' their band. Elena thought.

"Rude spoke highly of you, you know?" Elena smiled at her.

Cissnei looked up with surprise. "He did?" She smiled back. "He was always the nice one, he usually complies with Reno's nonsense. Reno and I never got along, but not in a bad way." Elena laughed. "And Tseng is probably the most serious out of the three of them." Cissnei trailed off sadly. "After the incident, I didn't want to talk to them anymore. Just told them that I wanted to be out of Laser Lou. Reno tried to find out why but Tseng and Rude… they honoured my request by ignoring me."

"Cissnei…" Elena pleaded. "They'll be more than glad to have you back, you know that."

Shaking her head, Cissnei said, "There's always a season for everything. I had my fun jamming with Laser Lou, but they've moved on and I've moved on. Playing in a band was merely an interest, because my true ambition is still in arts." She looked at Elena. "When I first heard that you were pulled into the band, I admit… I felt a little jealous. I… I wanted to be in your shoes… but don't worry!" She frantically waved her hands in front of her. "I really don't mind now. In fact, I was worried that the girls would harm you. Thank goodness that nothing happened to you so far." She smiled warmly at Elena. "I'm surprised to hear that you can sing."

"Reno insisted that I could, but I'm not too sure myself."

"I'm looking forward to watching you perform two weeks from now!"

Elena grinned. "You'll come support us? Please, please come!"

Cissnei nodded. "Elena…"


I can't stop you from performing with Laser Lou, but please be careful. Cissnei's words resonated in Elena's head.

"Cissnei…" She uttered, her heart ached at the predicament of her friend. "You did like being in Laser Lou, didn't you?" Remembering the flicker of sadness that passed Rude's face at the mention of their ex-bassist, Elena thought to herself. They liked you being in Laser Lou, as well.

A sickeningly saccharine voice interrupted her thoughts. "Renooo…" The voice whined. "You said that you would accompany us to sing karaoke today!"

Elena looked ahead and spotted Reno surrounded by a group of fawning girls. She recognized one or two of them who questioned her in the cafeteria after Tseng left. She turned and was about to walk away when Reno noticed her.

"Elena!" He waved enthusiastically. He turned to the girls. "Sorry, but today I've got a music practice with the band, you know how busy practices can get, right?" He walked to Elena. "Let's go."

"Aww…" The girls sighed with disappointment, but one of them wasn't fooled.

"Why is it that she could go with you?" She pouted, pointing at Elena.

Reno gave her a charming smile. "Because she's important to our practice."

"Reno's so mean!" The girls chorused. "We wanna watch you practise too!"

"You can watch me all you like during the performance." He winked. "Come on, Elena." He walked off and Elena, not wanting to see loathing glares from the girls, immediately followed after.

They brisk-walked for a short distance before Reno slowed down. "Man, that was close." He commented.

"Huh." Elena observed. "So someone's concern and kindness is but a façade?"

"Hey, it's not what you think." Reno rejoined. "I'm a nice guy, it's just that they're a little too aggressive for me… Not counting the fact that they were the group of girls who…" He trailed off. "Nevermind."

"Who what?" Elena probed.

Reno checked his surroundings and spoke in a whisper. "Two years ago, we had a bass guitarist…"

"Cissnei?"

Reno looked genuinely surprised. "You know her?" Elena nodded and briefly told him about the happenings in the morning. "Damn…" He swore. "I never even realized that she was in this school. She's that low profile now?" He looked at her. "You've got to bring me to her, yo? I don't understand why she needed to avoid us like the plague after high school."

Elena nodded, smiling. "Rude shared the same sentiments too."

A snide smile appeared on Reno's face, but he did not comment further. "I'm heading back to the studio." He said, pointing at the music building just ahead. "You?"

"Oh, I was about to head back to my studio. Packing up and submitting my work for the arts festival." Elena replied.

"Not bad, huh? Finishing your work four days before the actual exhibition." Reno smirked.

"Yeah yeah, it's all thanks to you. Catch ya later." She waved.

They departed to their respective locations, but there were many thoughts that invaded Elena's mind. She walked through the Arts Building, her head buzzing full of thoughts but ultimately she decided that she wanted to help Cissnei reconcile with the group.

Most definitely after the music performance… Elena thought. When this fiasco dies down. She exited the lift and walked down the corridor. I'll leave and go back to my quiet life, and Cissnei gets to play for Laser Lou again!

Back in my studio. She stared at the door and reached for the handle. Better pack up and then submit my… The words failed her as she opened the door and stared at what was in front of her.

The painting was ruined.

Elena walked in slowly… and reached out for what once was her completed oil painting. The layers of semi-dry oil paint were carved with threats such as "Leave Laser Lou alone!" and "Attention Seeker!". The canvas was totally destroyed; there was nothing that Elena could do to salvage the artwork.

She stared at the canvas for a long time, her fingers touching the mutilated layers of oil painting, semi-dry due to the wet-on-wet technique. The studio was deathly silent as details and suspicions dawned upon her.

She bit her lip. A whole week of hard work now stood before her in tatters. With only 4 days to the exhibition, Elena simply don't have time to redo another painting. Oil painting takes a very long time to dry.

Elena took out her cell phone and sent a short text message to Cissnei, explaining the situation in her studio. Cissnei was busy working on her mosaic and Elena felt bad for imposing on her schedule but Elena needed someone to talk to. Cissnei is the only person whom she trusts.

With the text message sent, Elena screamed and vented her anger by pounding her fists on the floor. "How could they do this to me?" She yelled. "What wrong did I do to them?" The next few minutes the studio was full of her screaming and eventually, when the anger subsided into tears, she laid flat on the floor, breathing heavily.

Perhaps I should just give up.

The text message ringtone told Elena that Cissnei has returned her text message. She reached for the cell phone lazily and checked her new message:

What the intruder did is simply unforgivable, however we cannot conclude for sure that the intruders are the girls in Laser Lou fan club. But we can discuss this another time. For now, your artwork is a bigger issue.

I'm not an expert on oil painting, but why don't you try using acrylic paint as a base instead? Paint your necessary colours then the last two layers will be oil paint? I know it's not exactly oil painting, but I guess this is my best suggestion to you. Hope things are alright over there. Do you want me to come over?

Elena chided herself for wanting to give up before the others did. "It's just like my singing competition… all over again." She murmured. Then, she remembered what Reno said yesterday: Embrace singing, and all the fears with it.

I love oil painting. Yet, I'm giving up just because some stranger ruined it intentionally? That doesn't bring my painting any justice… doesn't bring my singing any justice.

"Acrylic paint…" Elena murmured. A great substitute for oil paint, what used to take days and months to dry now only took minutes. Sure it won't be a traditional oil painting, but she isn't complaining, not with 4 days before the exhibition.

"Thanks for your help…" Elena muttered as she replied Cissnei's text. "Focus on your artwork. I shall take up your suggestion and redo the painting."

Elena punched the 'Send' button. Then she quietly took out the canvas and replaced it with a brand new canvas. She began to draw the gridlines again, but this time her heart was not anxious nor angry. Elena learnt the hard way that art cannot be done with an anxious heart. She needed to be peaceful inside.

Elena thought of the days when Reno was in the art studio, mixing the linseed oil and various colours and complaining on how precise he needed to be to obtain a good consistency. She would tease him in response. In the span of merely weeks, they spent a lot of time, sharing many jokes and stories together. Those days were unmistakably fun and despite the distractions from the lazy music student, Elena could paint without burden.

She hummed a song while mixing the paints, eventually started singing as she painted. Truth was, she still sang. But she did it in the privacy of her own studio, where no one can hear her. She tried not to sing in front of Reno while he was helping out, but the truth was, Elena loved to sing.

Reno… She mused. This time, I'm not going to chicken out and run from the stage. I'll take up the microphone and sing. Likewise, I won't give up just because my painting was sabotaged. Even if I were to fail, I will give this new painting a shot.

There is still hope.


Done in the style of author redcherryamber…

Thank you for reading.

Special thanks to: Belize, a friend of mine who took art. She provided me with some help relating to oil paintings and suggested the alternative, faster method which is acrylic painting.